The venue changed from Fair Grounds to
Churchill Downs, and the rival changed from Zardana to Unrivaled
Belle, but in the end Rachel Alexandra fell a head short for the
second consecutive time.

Rachel Alexandra, once again, was made
a heavy favorite as bettors expected the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro
to regain her 2009 Horse of the Year form in today's La Troienne at
Churchill Downs, but it was not meant to be. This time around it was
Unrivaled Belle who outdueled Rachel Alexandra.

Rachel Alexandra went to the lead early
along with D. Wayne Lukas' Be Fair to establish a fairly leisurely
early pace getting the first quarter mile in 24 3/5 and the opening
half mile in 48 4/5. Jockey Calvin Borel had a hold on Rachel
Alexandra who was loping along through those soft early fractions.
Unsurprisingly the slow pace caused the field to be fairly bunched
early with Zardana Unrivaled Belle, and Distinctive Dixie stalking
the leaders, and Morena just a few lengths back at the tail end of
the small pack.

As they rounded the turn for home
Rachel Alexandra and Unrivaled Belled began to seperate from the
pack, as Zardana and Be Mine threw in the towel. Morena was picking
up the pieces for third while Unrivaled Belle battled Rachel
Alexandra for the win. At the sixteenth pole the pair was even, with
both contenders under heavy drives. At the line it was clear that,
for the second straight time, Rachel Alexandra would come home second
best at extremely short odds.

Unrivaled Belle notched her second
straight graded stakes win in the La Troienne after taking the Grade
III Rampart at Gulfstream Park in March. The grey or roan filly is by
superstar stallion Unbridled's Song and is out of the Bertrando mare
Queenie Belle. Kent Desormeaux was the winning jockey, and Bill Mott
the winning trainer. Unrivaled Belle covered the 1 1/16 mile distance
of the La Troienne in 1:42.97.

Older Comments about Rachel Upset Again! ...

It's pretty simple...the filly wants her head and wants to go 46 and change or 47 flat. The 48 and 4 stuff allows other horses to be close who finish stronger than she does. She doesn't have an explosive turn of foot. You have to realize, when she goes 46 and 3 a horse has to go 48 and change just to be within ten lengths. They need to stop trying to make her rate and stop taking away her greatest weapon.

Rachel need Goggles. Trip handicap her last two and she turns her head to the right to get a gapping view of the winner to her outside of both races. Head not straight-on, as this philly shifts her body to her right toward her outside opponen
Maybe it's too lonesome at the top (of the stretch). It's not Borel making her head go to the right and moving out toward the horse to her right. Goggles next time. Might even get a price at even money.

medlocke - do you work at stupid or is it a gift??? Has your dumb butt ever been on a horse, a race track, ever saddled a horse, mucked a stall, gotten you dumb little hands dirty. The good filly that had one great season, listen TOOL, every trainer, owner, jockey, fan would love to have a good filly with one great season JUST ONCE IN THEIR LIFE. Get a clue or shut UP. Your are just an annoying know it all, that know nothing!!!

medlocke · So I ask you? Was that grueling campaign in 2009 really worth it? Because now, Jess Jackson has turned this filly into a horse that's struggling to beat what's not much more than allowance company. · 2415 days ago

I kind of felt bad for everyone at the Racino today. They were all in on RA, the place went silent when she was overtaken by UB. Only a few cheers from the regulars when she placed, they knew to bet against. I stayed away and just sat back and watched. Whenever there is a 1-5 FAV, its almost cliche that they will lose. But Rachel still looked off, nothing like what I witnessed live last summer at Saratoga and Monmouth. Maybe the layoff and her blistering schedule last season took something out of her. Her last 3 Beyers are decling 116-109-100, which I usually don't like but those numbers crazy, 116 come on. But there more thats goes into a Beyer than winning a race we all know, so I don't whats wrong. Desormeaux had a hell of trip and won derserving.

Rachel Alexandra, IMO, has never been anything more than a good filly that had one great season, in 2009. But that grueling 2009 campaign look's as if it's starting to show tell-tell sign's on her. In the New Orleans Ladies, Jackson said she was only about 75 or 80%. But if she truly was as great as Jess Jackson would like us to believe, shouldn't 80% Rachel been enough to still have beaten a far inferior group of fillies? Now, all this week on racing web-sites, we've read about what bullet workouts she turned in at Churchill Downs. She was ready for this race. But again, she wasn't able to keep herself from being headed at the line by Unrivaled Belle. A good filly in her own right. But is she really so good that the greatest thing since sliced bread wonder filly couldn't beat her? Any potential race that could or would have ever happened between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta has now lost any and all luster. It would be laughable to put Rachel on the same track against Zenyatta now. With the two efforts I've seen so far from Rachel in 2010, I'm not sure Zenyatta would have to break out of any more than an exercise canter, like she ran the Apple Blossom, to beat her either. LOL. TJMO.